


Between Life and Death

by Sunfreckle



Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: But with a fade to black because these boys are Difficult, Canon Compliant, Canon Dialogue, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Than and Zag finally get their shit together, With some help from Meg and Dusa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:14:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27780580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunfreckle/pseuds/Sunfreckle
Summary: “I never really know exactly where I stand with you,” Zagreus continued, in a gentle- a painfully gentle voice. “But I know how I feel, and I'd rather be up front with you, even if it means risking our relationship, such as it is.”“Our relationship?” It came out as a scoff. Much more of a scoff than Thanatos intended. But his breath didn’t seem his own to regulate just now. Something was pressing relentlessly on his chest. And even so, Zagreus barely seemed to react. Barely seemed to notice. Like he never seemed to notice. “It wasn't long ago you were prepared to throw it all away while making for the surface, if you don't recall,” Thanatos said wryly. It still stung, the way Zagreus had greeted him as some sort of potential adversary when he had finally found him. But he didn’t look at him like that anymore. Certainly not now.
Relationships: Dusa & Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Megaera & Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Megaera/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game), and already established:, but also: - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Between Life and Death

**Author's Note:**

  * For [adorablecrab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorablecrab/gifts).



> For Deb, who already read most of this in bits and pieces <3

No matter how long he had known him, no matter how often he had felt at that very real, tangible difference it made when Thanatos was present in the underworld, Zagreus was never quite sure when he would meet him. So it was always a surprise, always a jolt in his stomach, whether from happiness or dread.

It was happiness now though, pure and unchecked, and he didn’t think to check his words either before calling out: “I hope you're ready for some more of the real thing, there, Than, because I got you some, and I won't be taking 'Tsk what is this, Zag' for an answer.”

Thanatos caught the bottle of ambrosia he tossed at him, but he looked uneasy. Or unbalanced, perhaps. Except Than was never unbalanced…

“Ugh, what is this?” he scolded. “Come on, already, Zagreus, are you just messing with me, now?” His golden eyes fixed on Zagreus with something that seemed dangerously close to disapproval. “How did you even manage to get more of this, much less decide to hand it off to me?”

Zagreus rolled his eyes, counting on his fingers. “In order: no, I'm not; by ransacking my father's realm repeatedly; and it's because I like you, Thanatos. In case you still have some misgivings about that.”

Than’s mouth had pulled into a grimace when he mentioned his father, but now there was a startled look to him. Just for a second. Then, with a slight drawing back that made Zagreus long to step forward, he set his jaw with a wry smile. “You like me, Zagreus...? It's fortunate the depth of our shared language makes the sentiment so unambiguous. Otherwise I would have been left wondering, given everything that's happened as of late.”

Everything that’s happened. Everything that’s— The butterfly and the mouse seemed to burn in his pockets. “Yeah,” he said, with airy sarcasm. “Look, if you don't feel the same way about me, at this point, I would rather know. Cease with all these coy gift exchanges and all that.”

He let out soft snort, but Thanatos did not laugh. Thanatos changed colour, a ripple of tense cold flowing through the air around him. “I never said anything like that!”

Zagreus felt the smirk slide off his face. This had not been his intention. To make Thanatos do that with his face would  _ never  _ be his intention. He put up his hands, but Than didn’t give him any time to speak.

“You know what, there's a bunch of mortals I have to go fetch. Good-bye.”

“Than, wait...!”

The cold air dispersed and nothing was left of Thanatos but the sting of blue light to Zagreus’ eyes. His shoulders sagged, dragging his high spirits right down with them.

Everything had been going so well… 

Except, that was the way it always went, wasn't it? It went well enough, until he ran his mouth or made some stupid, bloody-minded mistake and...and everything fell apart.

Again.

Like it always did. 

\---

Sometimes Zagreus wondered if everyone else's minds were also so distractingly fast. It was so incessant that moments like this, when everything felt slow and easy, were blessing purer than ambrosia. 

“So, after this, will you do something about what you’ve been moping about?”

Zagreus blinked his eyes open, slowly shedding the drowsiness that had pulled him under while he lay with his head in Megaera’s lap. He could not look up at her like this, lying on his stomach with his head turned to the side, but he was very unwilling to move. More than enough time had passed for him to comfortably roll onto his back by now, but he just really didn’t feel like it.

“I’m not moping?” he mumbled into her skirt, genuinely confused. There hadn’t been a single thought in his head just now. Nothing but the sensation of slowly melting heat dispersed through his whole body that being with Meg always seemed to inject into the base of his neck. 

“Not right now, you aren’t.” Meg’s smirk was audible in her voice and Zagreus smiled at the sound, still slightly drunk on her. The way her hand came to rest against his head called him back to attention though. “But you were before,” she continued. “I could tell from a dochilos off.”

Zagreus didn’t answer and Megaera didn’t make him. He lay in her lap and let the drowsy warmth slowly slip away. When it was gone, his head was clear again. Clearer than it had been before, too. That was always a wonderful side effect. 

Than hadn’t been down from the surface since they last spoke. Or if he had, he must have been avoiding him on purpose. With good reason, probably. 

He’d come back eventually though. He would.

Finally, Zagreus rolled onto his back, looking up at Megaera where she sat glancing down at him, her tied up hair just a  _ little  _ out of order. “Yeah, okay,” he muttered. 

One corner of her perfectly painted mouth quirked. “Yeah okay, you were moping, or yeah okay, you’re going to do something about it?”

Zagreus pulled a face at her, but spoiled the effect by smiling at the fond amusement in her eyes. “Both.”

Megaera hummed and raked her fingers through his hair. “Good.”

\---

Zagreus had been waiting for him, Thanatos was sure of it. There was a distinct difference in the way he held himself and in that far too unguarded expression on his face. Usually when he saw him, Zagreus looked surprised. Always pleased, but always surprised. This time he looked...relieved.

Thanatos waited, ignoring the urge to turn and put more distance between them and ignoring the urge to hurry towards him even harder. 

Zag didn’t hurry either. He approached him with uncharacteristic caution. He didn’t even speak, not until he presented him with yet another bottle of ambrosia. And even then he sounded more sober and much more thought-out than Thanatos had come to expect of him: 

“Thanatos, I wanted to apologise for the last time I approached you with a bottle of the real thing, and give the whole exchange another shot.” 

His eyes were fixed on his face intently enough to make Thanatos meet his gaze. There was an edge to Zagreus’ expression that was new to him. 

“Would that be all right?”

Thanatos wondered, sincerely, if he would ever manage to wrap his head around what went on in Zagreus’ mind. First he ignored him, then he flattered him, then he accused him and now...this. “Hmph,” he sniffed. “You're asking my consent to give me yet another lavish gift? Sure! Permission granted.” He held out his hand, his eyes meeting Zag’s again. “Though, what makes you think that your approach this time is going to be any more successful than the last?”

It was a challenge, but Zag didn’t take the bait. He put the bottle in Thanatos' hand, leaving his own hand on it long enough for his fingers to press against Thanatos’ like a touch of fire. “I don't know that it will,” he said softly.

Thanatos stared at him, gripping the bottle far too tightly. 

“I never really know exactly where I stand with you,” Zagreus continued, in a gentle- a  _ painfully  _ gentle voice. “But I know how I feel, and I'd rather be up front with you, even if it means risking our relationship, such as it is.”

“Our relationship?” It came out as a scoff. Much more of a scoff than Thanatos intended. But his breath didn’t seem his own to regulate just now. Something was pressing relentlessly on his chest. And even so, Zagreus barely seemed to react. Barely seemed to notice. Like he  _ never  _ seemed to notice. “It wasn't long ago you were prepared to throw it all away while making for the surface, if you don't recall,” Thanatos said wryly. It still stung, the way Zagreus had greeted him as some sort of potential adversary when he had finally found him. But he didn’t look at him like that anymore. Certainly not now. Now it seemed to Thanatos that Zagreus was expecting him to run away from him. He breathed. “But now you're saying that you care for me, and...what, exactly, Zagreus?”

“Yes, that's what I'm saying, Than." His gaze was distressingly earnest and steady . "I should not have left the way I did, without letting you know.”

No, no he shouldn’t have. But… Thanatos bowed his head. He hadn't expected an apology.

Zagreus took a slow step forward, as if he needed to eliminate the distance between them as long as Thanatos would not look at him. “But when you found me, I think that's when...that's when I knew, or started to realize, you know?”

He hadn’t meant to look up, but as soon as he did, Thanatos couldn’t look away again. Zagreus always did have far too open, too expressive a face. And right now it was all quiet hope and unspoken questions. Thanatos’ could hear them ringing in his ears and before he could think to stop himself his lips were stumbling through an answer. “I...yes.”

Bright, dancing firelight seemed to light up Zagreus’ face from the inside out and Thanatos felt his heart twist beneath his ribs.

“I know, I think,” he struggled. “Because...when I heard you took off, the anger that I felt, it was…” It had burned him. It had taken his self-control from him in a way he had not experienced since he was still a wild force free of discipline. “...it wasn't something I expected.”

The fire had not left Zagreus’ eyes, but there was something like guilt on his face for a long moment. It lost out to the affection though. It was clear and steady and Thanatos wondered how he had never seen it before. Not the way it looked now, at least. Not this deep and sincere…

Thanatos looked away, his gaze dropping to the bottle in his hand, that he should have crushed to shards by now. “So...ungh. What do we do now?”

“Maybe we ought to take our time,” Zagreus replied and he sounded a little more like himself. A little lighter. “Unlike the real thing there, that's a commodity we have in good supply. Just know that…” His voice didn’t falter, not quite, but it was close. “If you feel the way I do...you know where to find me. And if not...I'm grateful, anyway.”

“...I see.” Of all the things Thanatos felt he might need, time seemed the least beneficial. Time he had had in spades. Time spent separated from Zagreus, never sure of how to treat him or how he would be treated when he returned. Time spent wondering in endless,  _ endless  _ silence whether this pervasive, persistent need and want would ever go away— But perhaps Zagreus was right. Perhaps, if they were both truly ready, this should be easier. “Well then…” he muttered. “The best that I can say for now is that I'm grateful, too, for this.”

He hid the ambrosia away and lifted his scythe again, pushing against the fabric of existence to find a way out. “Take care of yourself, Zag.

Zagreus’ answer was almost too quiet to hear in the rush of his departure. 

“...You, too.”

\---

Zagreus entered the lounge, immediately smiling at the sight of Dusa. She was flitting about with her usual industry, but paused as soon as she saw him. 

“Oh, hi, Prince!" she cried, zipping over to him instantly. "I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Zagreus flopped down in a convenient seat. “Why wouldn't I be here?”

She blinked at him, pale cheeks dusting over with pink. "Well, um, Thanatos is home, isn't he?" 

His face fell, first merely from embarrassment, but even further when the full meaning of her words hit him. "Dusa, you don't mean to say that you expect me to ignore everyone else - ignore  _ you _ \- just because Than is around?" 

"No!" Dusa bobbed up and down in protest. "Pri-  _ Zagreus _ , that wasn't what I meant at all! I only, I mean, it's natural, isn't it? To want to be near someone when you feel...the way you do." She bumped lightly against his shoulder. "And you have never ignored me, not even once!"

A bit of the tension sagged from his shoulders. "If I ever do, for whatever reason, you let me have it, alright? That's not who I want to be."

"And that's not who you  _ are _ . Not at all."

Dusa often sounded so unsure of herself that whenever she didn’t, it was very hard to still doubt her. Zagreus gave her a grateful look. “Do you have time to stay and talk a while?”

“You got it, Prince—Zagreus.”

He let out a soft huff of a laugh. “ _ Prince Zagreus _ sounds even more formal than just Prince.”

“It doesn’t, doesn’t it?” She gave a shake of her snakes. “I’ll get used to the name thing eventually, you'll see.”

The fond look on his face was entirely involuntary, but it was likewise entirely unchecked. “Maybe one night you’ll even call me Zag.”

“I happen to like your full name,” she retorted, but the faint blush still returned to her cheeks.

Her blushes were better now he no longer made her nervous, he could enjoy them completely guilt-free.

"So…” Dusa glanced at him. “Why  _ aren't  _ you with Thanatos? He might have to leave again soon. You can hang out here whenever you like!" 

Right. Of course she wouldn’t just let that slide. "I-" Zagreus cleared his throat. "I am giving him space."

"Oh," Dusa blinked. "Um, I see."

Zagreus looked up at her in surprise. “What?”

“Nothing! Except...that is not really a thing you do.”

“Ouch.”

“I don’t mean it in a bad way! You are very, honest, Prince, and kind.”

And so was Dusa. “But I lack an awareness of personal boundaries,” he supplied.

“I didn’t say that!” she protested.

“But it’s been true, hasn’t it.”

Her expression softened even further. “Only a little, look-” She scurried a little closer. “Did Thanatos tell you he needed space?”

Zagreus didn’t quite manage to make himself meet her eyes. “No, but…”

“But what?”

“But I think he has need of it. Space from me, anyway.” Thanatos had not come to see him since they talked last, it was starting to get discouraging. Sure, they went periods without seeing each other. Terribly long periods sometimes. But that was just because Than was away. Whenever he was here...he always seemed to run into him. 

“If I were him,” Dusa said gently. “And I’m not! But if I  _ were _ , I think I would tell you if I needed space.”

“I know, I know, but-” He sighed. “Than doesn’t always talk much, you know?”

“Oh, ah-” Dusa let out a shy laugh. “I do talk a lot, don’t I?”

“Hey.” He nudged against her feather duster, never quite willing to just touch her face. “That wasn’t a comparison. I enjoy your talking.”

“Well, I can talk some more then, while you’re...waiting. If you like?”

Zagreus smiled. He did not deserve Dusa, he really didn’t. “I would.”

\---

"Thank you, Megaera," Thanatos sighed. "I am not used to encountering this much trouble up at the surface."

"Don't mention it." Megaera stretched her shoulders. "It has been a very long time since I was required upstairs. I think that visit to Argos was the last time."

"I appreciate it all the same."

She looked pleased in spite of herself, which made him smile. The two of them made their way back towards the palace, in a comfortable silence that was eventually broken by Megaera. 

"Zag must be back as well by now. When you see him, tell him thanks, will you? He knows what for."

Thanatos felt his expression cloud over just a little too late to stop it. 

Megaera raised an eyebrow at him. "What? You  _ are _ going to go see him, aren't you?" 

He looked away, knowing full well that lying to Megaera would be entirely futile. 

She let out a deep sigh. "I thought we were past this, Than.  _ Zag _ seems to think you are."

Of course. Of course he did. "We're fine," he said stiffly. "I am sure I will see him again soon. But if you want him to receive your thanks immediately, you might as well give them yourself." 

Megaera stopped walking and, by virtue of the handle of her whip suddenly blocking his way, prevented Thanatos from moving also. "Hold up, I thought he finally toughened up and apologised." She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What happened?" 

"Nothing  _ happened _ ," Thanatos snapped. "Now can we-" 

"So what's the problem?" she demanded, her outstretched arm still a pretty impenetrable barrier. Meg only had to take a single step to fully block his path and while he had several options open to him for an exit that were less dependent on physical space, Thanatos was not prepared to deal with the consequences of using them on her. 

He turned to face her, trying not to pay too much attention to the genuine concern hidden behind her scowl. "The problem is that I am not at all sure what he wants from me."

Meg's face was suddenly jarringly blank. "You still think he doesn't share your feelings?" 

"No!" Thanatos burst out. "He all but  _ told  _ me he does!" The words burned in his throat and stung in his chest, but he had, hadn't he? He had told him he had feelings for him and then— Then nothing. 

Megaera stared at him with a rather contorted frown. “Then what  _ is  _ the damn problem?”

“He’s…” Thanatos shook his head. “I can’t do this, Meg.”

Her eyes narrowed even further. “This better not be because he’s the Prince.”

“What?  _ No _ -” he protested. “Meg, it’s- it’s  _ him _ . It’s always been him. There’s no one I’ve ever-” He could tell he was losing Megaera’s understanding and his own thoughts seemed to twist in circles too. “I have made my own...appreciation, for him, so very clear over the years,” he breathed. “And I thought, after he found his mother, I thought…”

Megaera made a soft noise at the back of her throat. “He told you about her, then?”

“Has he not spoken of it to you?”

“A little,” she hummed. “Not as much as to you, I’d wager.” Her eyes rested on him critically for a quiet moment. “He does not confide as much in all the people he trusts.” 

There was no judgement in her expression, but he still looked away. 

“How often do you return that favour, Thanatos?”

“I told him, last time we spoke.” He did, he told him how he felt, asked him what he wanted— It was Zagreus who wanted to wait.

“And what did he say?” If Meg had any surprise or disbelief to conceal, she did it well.

“ That we ought to take our time,” Thanatos replied numbly. 

Megaera let out a huff. “No he didn’t.”

Thanatos shut his mouth, too shocked to remember to avoid her eyes.

“You’re talking about the guy Charon had to fish out of the river Styx for us because he thought he saw a stonewhal,” Meg reminded him and she prodded a finger at him. “If Zagreus said anything of the sort, it was meant for your benefit.”

He stared at her, mind blank. “How could he  _ possibly  _ think that?”

“Let’s see,” she drawled, tipping her head back with a weary roll of her eyes. “Because he’s an idiot when he's flirting and because you don’t know how to say what you want.” She looked at him again. “You’re going to have to work on that if you’re going to be with him.”

She might as well have smacked him in the face with her whip. “I’m-”

“You want to be with him, don’t you?”

Thanatos felt like he barely knew what that question even meant. He just knew that the thought of answering ‘no’ seemed to hurt. “...if he does.”

“Well  _ obviously _ .” There was nothing quite like a fury’s frustration. Still, Meg made sure to unclaw her fingers before she planted her hand on his shoulder. “Go see him.”

She let go of him and Thanatos pulled away. “I’ll consider it.”

\---

He had no idea how long he had been standing there, staring at the mess in Zagreus' room with unseeing eyes, before he finally heard Zag’s familiar footsteps out in the hallway. Thanatos did not want to give him any time to speak, did not want to give  _ himself  _ time to try and read Zagreus’ expression and change his mind, so he spoke up right away:

“I need to ask something of you.”

“Thanatos...!” Zagreus’ expression, open as it always was, was entirely unreadable. He didn’t seem unhappy to see him though. He even smiled a little. “I'd ask you to come in, but...you're already here.” 

Thanatos bit down on his teeth, not wanting to interrupt but wishing he would.

Zagreus’ eyes, even the one lit up with red, softened as they met his. “It's really good to see you.”

That was too much. 

“Just tell me one thing, Zagreus.” There was  _ such  _ a distance between them, but Thanatos was incapable of moving. “Did you really mean what you told me before, that...maybe we ought to...take our time?”

Zagreus’ hesitation made his heart sink. Perhaps he did need time. Perhaps he wasn’t sure after all. If that was the case...then he would have to live with that. Live with continuing to not know how much he meant to someone that meant so much to him that it frightened him at times. Thanatos didn’t know how well he would bear that, but he knew that he could. He had borne it for what seemed like an age and he would continue to do so if he must. 

But then, amazingly, Zagreus moved, coming towards him with cautious steps. “I just...don't mean to push you, Than. I know all this is kind of a lot. And I wanted you to know...this isn't some impulsive thing for me. I'll wait for you however long it takes.”

Thanatos stared, grabbed at his forehead and pushed his hood out of his face with a sound of disbelief so sharp that he didn’t manage to swallow it down. Zageus was looking at him as if...as if he was afraid to have offended him. As if he was expecting him to bolt. Thanatos silently drew in a breath, keeping his voice steady. “You have no concept of which impulses to act upon, and which to keep in check.” He didn’t look away this time. He held Zagreus’ gaze and it was so full of questions that Thanatos wondered if Zagreus had ever understood a single thing he had tried to tell him. “You say you'll wait, well, let me ask you this: What are you waiting for? What are you waiting for, I'm here, already.” His heart twisted and he failed to keep his treacherous voice from faltering. “Right...?”

The perfect, unspoiled surprise on Zagreus’ face was as bewildering as it was endearing. “Than…” He laughed, both his eyes lighting up with surface light. “I’m so glad! It's just…” A shadow of anxiety passed over his face. “You know that Megaera has been here, too...?”

“Tsch,” he snorted. “I've known Megaera much longer than you.” He looked away for just long enough to rest his eyes from what must surely be genuine sunshine shimmering in Zagreus’ smile. “Who do you think talked me into this?”

“Hah! She did, did she? That's good!” His grin calmed a little, suddenly distracted eyes darting from Thanatos’ face to his feet back up to his eyes. “That's good…”

He was suddenly closer than he had before. Closer than he had ever been, it seemed to Thanatos, even though he knew that wasn’t true. There had been a time neither of them would have given a second thought to practically occupying the same space. That seemed very long ago now… 

Zagreus ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. “Do you want to…put the scythe away maybe?”

Thanatos felt a laugh stir in his chest and he did not hold it back. “Yes,” he agreed. “I will do that.” 

Zag laughed back at him and the sound was warm enough to shake the apprehension out of Thanatos’ shoulders. He set his scythe, sword and gauntlet aside, with all the deference they deserved, and turned back to Zagreus, to see him get rid of some of his armour with much less care and attention.

He looked back up at Thanatos, grinning and stepping in closer, before hesitating again. It was only a split second, but Thanatos caught it. He followed Zagreus’ gaze, darting through the room.

“Worried that someone will find us?”

“I don’t- maybe,” Zagreus muttered.

Well, that was something he could fix at least. Thanatos raised a hand and a thick, impenetrable darkness suddenly encroached from every corner of the room. Zagreus watched it roll in, turning left and right in surprise. Thanatos made the darkness hold back before it fully reached them, leaving a heavy dusk around them in which Zagreus, lit up with his unearthly fire, was the sole source of light. 

“There,” he hummed. “All the privacy you need.”

“That’s amazing!” Zagreus gawked. “How did you do that?”

Thanatos raises an eyebrow. “I am a son of the Night, Zagreus.”

Zag’s face split with a grin and Thanatos could have sworn his fire flared a little brighter.

“What?”

“I like the difference in how you say my name,” Zagreus smiled. “When you say my full name like that. It sounds different every time.”

“I am not very often accused of having an expressive voice.”

“It is to me.” Zagreus’ head slanted just a little. “You were exasperated with me.”

Thanatos looked back at him, a smile tugging on his lips. “I often am.”

“Are you still?”

“Yes,” he replied flatly, just to see Zagreus’ pull a face. “Not only that though...”

Zagreus gave him a provoking, lit-up look, one he had never seen before. “What else then?”

“You  _ know  _ what else.”

Even when the steps he took crossed mere inches towards him, Zagreus’ feet sent sparks flying into the dark. “I know I want to kiss you, Than.”

For the love of— “ _ Zagreus. _ ”

Zagreus pressed his lips against his.

For a searing moment Thanatos’ mind froze entirely in place. Zagreus was warm, so much warmer than any other being he knew. And it felt, irrationally, stupidly so, like he had been too cold every single moment of his existence before this.

It was a soft, careful kiss. And before Thanatos’ mind had even fully caught up Zagreus pulled away already. Just a fraction, lowering himself back onto the heels of his feet. Just enough to look up into his eyes. Just enough to speak.

"Is this—?" 

“ _ Yes _ .” Thanatos ducked his head, pulling him back in with a frantic hand at the back of his neck and Zagreus laughed against his lips. A moment later it felt like all of him was pressed up against him and Thanatos felt, for the first time, just how cold the stone walls of the palace were. At least they were compared to the heat of Zagreus’ body. His hood slid down from his head under Zagreus’ wandering hands and Thanatos made a soft, involuntary sound as his fingers grabbed into his hair.

This-  _ this  _ was what that starved, bewildering feeling in his chest had been asking for. Zagreus smelled of soot and blood, but he tasted like  _ life _ . Zagreus’ lips left his and pressed against his cheek instead, giving Thanatos space to draw in a shuddering breath. Without knowing quite how, his hands had landed on Zagreus’ waist, feeling nothing but soft fabric in the unusual absence of his belt. As Zagreus’ hands and kisses travelled further down and reached the forbidding gold wrapped around his neck, Thanatos realised he had not granted him the same courtesy. 

Zagreus faltered, warm fingertips brushing the edge of his jaw. “Can I?”

“Mm.” He nodded, tipping his head further forwards.

Still pressed close against him Zagreus fumbled in the dusk, making a puzzled noise by Thanatos’ ear. “How…?”

Thanatos laughed, reaching up and undoing the hidden clasps, letting the gold ornament slide to the ground and placing the heavy wings adorning his shoulder beside it. As he stood back upright, Zagreus’ cheeks seemed tinged with something very like a blush. “What?” he asked curiously. 

“...I’ve hardly ever seen you without that, since you started wearing it,” Zagreus mumbled. He blinked, slowly. “Only...five times.”

Thanatos breathed out a laugh. “How can you  _ possibly  _ know that it was exactly five times.”

Zagreus’ gaze dropped down from his face to his bare neck. “I remember…”

Standing like this, both their feet planted firmly on the ground, Zagreus barely had to tip his head to kiss his neck. Thanatos’ felt his breath hitch when he pressed his lips to his skin and he was convinced Zagreus could somehow follow the exact path of his pulse with his mouth.

His warm hands found his way to his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his waist. Zagreus’ lips lingered at the hollow of his throat, hesitating as his hands reached his belt, and Thanatos murmured a wordless agreement. The belt did not give Zagreus any trouble and he let it slide to the floor with just enough noise to wince at it. 

Thanatos laughed and pulled him in closer. Zagreus pressed back and this time there was nothing but fabric and warm skin between them.

His mind was still catching up, still flooded with the newness of it all, but his body had no such distractions. Zagreus fit so perfectly into his arms, could be tucked so closely against his chest, and he kissed him so deeply, with his own arms wrapped tight around Thanatos' neck, that it seemed a negligible thing where he ended and Zagreus began.

Thanatos was not aware they had pushed away from the wall, and neither did he fully feel their first few stumbling steps through the room, but he felt - just a little too late - his feet leave the floor. Zagreus gasped against his lips and Thanatos quickly brought them both down again.

"Unintentional," he breathed. 

Zagreus eyes sparked at him. "Does that mean I can make you do it again?" 

He didn't wait for an answer and Thanatos sighed softly as Zagreus' hands found their way into the folds of his clothes. Zagreus nuzzled at his neck gently dragging Thanatos along with soft tugs on his robe and Thanatos followed. One hand on Zag’s chest, one hand gently displacing the golden laurels crowning his head. Their bare feet hardly made a sound on the stone floor, but Thanatos did hear Zagreus breathing, light and close and just a touch more eager.

He answered with a kiss to Zagreus’ lips, immediately allowing himself to be pulled down towards him and fully into a new embrace. This was easier, Thanatos thought, than he had ever imagined it would be. 

And then Zagreus pulled him onto his bed, and he stopped thinking entirely for the time being.

\---

Stretched out on Zagreus’ bed, with the candles once more lighting the room, the gold and the laurels littering the floor seemed to glint in the corners of Thanatos’ eyes whichever way he turned his head. He rolled back onto his side, looking at Zagreus lying beside him. 

Zagreus smiled drowsily at him stretching out a lazy hand to entwine his fingers with Thanatos'. 

Thanatos rubber his thumb over Zag's, unlacing their fingers to bring Zagreus' hand to his lips. Even now his own lips felt cool against Zag's skin… 

"We should get dressed," he muttered.

"Or we don't." Zagreus rolled towards him, leaning just enough weight on top of him to press Thanatos gently into the mattress. "Not yet-"

It was needlessly difficult to laugh and kiss at the same time. Thanatos let Zagreus kiss the laugh off his lips and then kissed him back until they could both feel the weight of the world beyond this room drag them away. 

He watched Zagreus' as they both got dressed, following every energetic dart he made through the room with renewed affection. However did he manage to get all his possessions strewn about so?

"There they are!" Zagreus snatched his scarlet laurels off the ground and placed them back of his head.

He would have to carve out a space in his life to keep this. A place for him and Zagreus to be together, to stay together, while the world around them turned. He wasn't willing to give this up again…

"Stay where you  _ are _ ," Zagreus told the gilded leaves. "You survive all those dunkings in the fountain and  _ now _ you decide to be difficult?" 

Thanatos smiled and looked away for a moment, only to look up in Zagreus suddenly nearly uneasy face. 

“Hey, Than, look...speak up, already." He gave a nervous push at his still tousled hair. "I don't like it when you're quiet for too long, what's on your mind?”

“A lot of things. And you will have to grow to like it, Zag.” Clearly, from the spark of concern in Zagreus’ eyes that came out wrong. “Or, what I mean is...don't take my silence the wrong way, all right?” 

Zagreus nodded and Thanatos made sure to see the anxious spark in his eyes die out. 

“I'd better get going, though, I'm way behind on work, but...see you again." He smiled, cautiously. "If that's all right.”

“It is, Zagreus smiled back, and then repeated himself, sounding surer and warmer than before. “It is.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for coming along while I tried to get a better handle on writing these two!
> 
> (I was attempting to write something a bit more smutty than this, but it just didn't happen. When I /do/ write something rated E for them, I will post it under my other pseud: Moonfreckle)


End file.
